RENTON, Wash. – Richard Sherman was asked about his frustration level when Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy made the season-opening decision to turn the Seattle Seahawks shutdown cornerback into a shutout corner by avoiding his side of the field.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, 12," Sherman said.
Sherman isn't certain if he'll spend Sunday's NFC Championship Game stranded again out in the secondary, shunned by quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the defensive left side. But he's ready.
"I'm not surprised either way," Sherman said. "But I expect them to execute their game plan, whatever that may be. I don't really have a gut feeling about how it's going to go."
McCarthy has since said he regretted avoiding Sherman as Rodgers threw for just 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception in that Seahawks' 36-16 rout of the Packers in the 2014 season opener.
Rodgers hinted he may throw to both sides of CenturyLink Field after the Packers moved star receiver Jordy Nelson to the defensive right side against cornerback Byron Maxwell while avoiding Sherman. They aligned then-No. 3 receiver Jarrett Boykin across from Sherman. Nelson caught a game-high nine passes for 83 yards with a long catch of 16 yards.
"It just depends on who's open," Rodgers said this week. "It's always important to throw it to the right and throw it to the left a little bit."
On his Tuesday ESPN Milwaukee radio show, Rodgers said it's vital to be aware of Sherman, but he's "not scared of him."
Nelson hasn't dwelled much this week on whether the Packers will or won't go after Sherman.
"If we get matched up, yeah, obviously, it would be a great challenge a great opportunity," Nelson said. "But I'm not going to go out of my way to go over there or anything. We're just going to run our offense and do what we need to do to win the game."
Quarterbacks have shied away from Sherman for good reason. No cornerback has come close to Sherman's league-best 25 interceptions including a leaping one against Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in last week's 31-17 divisional-round win since Sherman became a starter midway through his 2011 rookie season. Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson and Chicago Bears corner Tim Jennings are tied for second with 15 during that span.
"Playing receiver has definitely helped me intercept balls thrown my way," said Sherman, a former Stanford receiver. "I like to play the game. I like to play like everybody else. I guess everybody sees it a different way. But I mean you get balls thrown your way, you get a chance to be involved and make plays.
"There's also the chance for another guy to make a play as well."
Second-round rookie receiver Davante Adams has since replaced the inconsistent Boykin as a starter.
In Green Bay's 26-21 divisional-round win against the Dallas Cowboys, Adams came up big with seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. It was his best game since a six-catch, 121-yard effort in a 26-21 Nov. 30 win against the New England Patriots.
Adams finished the regular season with 38 catches for 446 yards and three touchdowns.
"I definitely think they'll throw at Sherm," Maxwell said. "I would because they got beat by 20 last time. I think they should change up.
"This late in the season, Aaron will spread the ball more and be the Aaron Rodgers we all know. They have a great passing attack starting with Aaron, one of the best quarterbacks to ever do it."
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll gave Sherman a pep talk in the Seahawks locker room afterward, telling him to take Rodgers' freeze-out approach as a sign of his stature as the game's best cornerback.
"He said, 'Don't get frustrated. This isn't going to be the only time it happens. Treat it as a sign of respect. Just stay locked in, continue to do your job and we appreciate your contributions,'" Sherman recalled. "After a game like that, you feel like you haven't contributed anything. Everybody's like, 'Man, that's cool. Nobody threw to your side.'
"But if you're a player, you want to make plays in the game, want the ball coming my way more."
